BNF faces primaries challenges
Tsaone Basimanebotlhe | Sunday May 12, 2024 22:06
Allegations of irregularities and suspicious circumstances, including the postponement of voting in certain areas, have led to concerns about the party’s commitment to fair and transparent elections.
This situation creates further obstacles for the BNF as it seeks to navigate the internal divisions and electoral challenges that have emerged within the party. However, a re-run is expected this weekend in two wards in Molepolole North constituency being Ntlo ele Ngwae and Mankgwenyane. At Ntlo ele Ngwae ward, the elections could not go as planned since the party had booked two places which had caused confusion to the voters hence the postponement scheduled on Saturday. In Mankgwenyane ward, there was a power outage, which led to the postponement of the primaries.
Those who are contesting for parliamentary seat in the area include Arafat Khan and Moremi Gabanagae. So far, Khan has won nine wards against Gabanagae's nil. At Tonota constituency, the elections had started late around 16:00 hours and ended at 22:00 hours. This forced the party’s executive committee to intervene. When responding to Mmegi enquiries, the BNF secretary-general Ketlhalefile Motshegwa said there will be elections over the weekend in two wards at Molepolole North after they had challenges of electricity and failure to secure the booked places.
'As for Tonota, we are engaging candidates on the matter since elections started late. The election materials had arrived late and some voters had returned to their homes since it took a long time to start. It will be up to candidates to inform us if they want a re-run or not, looking at cost implications.” He said what his party is trying to avoid is having disputes during primary elections.
On different issues, Motshegwa said the secretaries -general for the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) affiliate parties are meeting to discuss pending matters for ward allocations amongst others. Meanwhile, one of the burning issues is in Tlokweng constituency where members are complaining of wards and favouritism that is allegedly being done by some towards the Alliance for Progressives (AP) candidates. A letter dated April 28, 2024, to BNF president, Duma Boko reads in part: “The constituency committee is the one that set in the ‘’negotiations” with the contracting partner, AP. General membership mandated them with “one ward or nothing” to AP since AP has very little presence in Tlokweng. They ignored the mandate given by the general membership and agreed with the AP on five wards in which other UDC diehards were interested.
They (BNF delegates) also secured those wards in which they were interested to stand. This self-serving exercise was not accepted by the general membership. Consequently, an appeal was launched to the central committee following the motion of no confidence on the constituency committee by general membership.” The letter further states that even if the central committee (chairperson- Dr Patrick Mmolotsi, vice president- Dr Micus Chimbombi and deputy secretary-general, Nelson Ramaotwana) agreed that “there is nothing that justifies five wards” to AP, they overturned the motion of no confidence, dissolved the interim committee and reinstated the constituency committee based on wrong procedure. Subsequently, the letter says the committee united with AP and one BNF member faction to drive and secure AP´s interests. It also accuses the said BNF member of conniving with AP members in order for the BNF members who have wards to pave the way for them. The BNF member is also accused of having started campaigning with some AP members despite the issue being still handled by the party leadership. “Our pleas to the central committee (Chimbombi and Mr Motshegwa) are futile.
This is causing commotion and panic in the constituency to the extent that there are rumours that our committee members have received some money from the AP. Furthermore, that they have been promised a further P50 000.00 and supporting promotional material (including T-shirts) after the primary elections. Despite SG´s emphasis on choosing credible candidates and his subsequent distribution of vetting rules and procedures, the constituency committee unilaterally decided on “no vetting” in Tlokweng. Undoubtedly, this was meant to protect some candidates whose records of misconduct are not hidden from the public eye,” the letter states.
The concerned members also complained that other members have criminal records which should automatically disqualify them from contesting. Furthermore, the concerned members said the general membership took a position to give AP one ward or nothing. They said the AP refused to come for negotiations and therefore, the BNF kept all wards and a report was generated by the negotiation team to the constituency committee.